by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY Sports

Bryant, a guaranteed Hall of Famer, told NBA.com that he will decide if the 2013-14 season is his final season before training camp begins next season. It very well could be.

"I'll talk to my family and stuff and really see if I want to continue to sacrifice as much as I'm sacrificing right now," Bryant told NBA.com. "I'm putting my body through a lot to just try to get ready to play every single night. To do what I'm doing right now, it's not easy. I'll tell you, it's taken a lot of commitment."

Bryant wants a decision out of the way so he can stop answering questions and so the Lakers can prepare for a future without Bryant who has been with the organization since his rookie season in 1996-97.

At All-Star Weekend in Houston in mid-February, Bryant said, "For me, it's pretty simple. If I just want to walk away, I'll just walk away. It's just something you feel and decide."

Next season is the final year of a contract that will pay him $30.4 million â?? the first time a player has earned $30 million or more in a season since Chicago Bulls Hall of Famer Michael Jordan in 1997-98.

It's no secret Bryant, who has won five championships, wants another ring. But the way the Lakers have played this season and with the talent on other teams, it is difficult seeing the Lakers win a title this season, if they make the playoffs, or next season.

"It's my decision. It's really about what I want to do, if I want to train and be psychotic with my training," Bryant told NBA.com. "That's what it comes down to. It's really how I'm feeling physically."

He has battled injuries this season, including a painful bone spur in his left foot that forced him to miss two full games plus a majority of a third game in March.

Bryant just passed Wilt Chamberlain for fourth on the NBA's all-time scoring list and is 858 points behind Jordan for third. He is 5,000-plus points behind Karl Malone for second and just less than 7,000 behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.